


In For the Kill

by Cyborgtamaki



Category: Death Note
Genre: M/M, Neighbour AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-24 11:05:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8369851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyborgtamaki/pseuds/Cyborgtamaki
Summary: Matt didn't think anyone was being serious when people said that the walls in his new apartment were thin enough to have a conversation through. Turns out they were right. And his neighbour isn't the most normal of people.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was going to just be a short one shot but then it got a really long and complicated plot so now it's turned into a multi-chapter fic that will probably spiral out of control.   
> Based on a prompt I found: The guy living below me has a really loud alarm clock that always wakes me up at the ass crack of dawn AU
> 
> http://onetruepairingideas.tumblr.com/post/111429477742/ok-but-have-you-consideredapartment-aus

He’d been warned about his neighbour before he moved in. He’d taken each of them with a pinch of salt. I mean really, who’s got an alarm that could be loud enough to wake Matt up? Even his own alarm couldn’t do that. He was sure that this guys alarm wouldn’t disturb him. If he was wrong he told himself, then he'd have to go over an ask where he got such an amazing alarm.

He was wrong. He was so so wrong.

Five am. That’s when the obnoxious alarm went off. The first trill had barely finished and Matt was already wide awake. It was so loud that Matt swore it was right next to his pillow. He kept his eyes closed as he heard his neighbour roll out of bed and turn it off. Matt could hear every step of their walk across the room. The sound of a shower being turned on made it clear that they had been walking to the bathroom.

Matt had just rolled over and closed his eyes when he heard the singing start. He groaned and pulled the covers over his head. It wasn’t that his neighbour had a bad voice. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The voice was low and smooth, apart from the slight gravelly edge sleep had given it. Matt tried to ignore it, embarrassed by the shivers that ran down his spine. Matt’s mind couldn’t help but wonder who the voice belonged to. Matt groaned again, squeezing his eyes shut. Slowly the voice managed to lull Matt back to sleep. The last thing he remembered thinking was that his neighbour took damn long showers.

 

* * *

 

 

Matt’s alarm failed to wake him up like always. He really needed to get a better one. Or see if his neighbour would mind setting another alarm for seven. But judging by the loud bang of a door slamming in the apartment next door and footsteps along the corridor, his neighbour was going out for the day. Matt sat up, rubbing his eyes as he dragged himself out of bed. He opened his curtains just in time to see a black motorbike speed out of the car park. Matt ignored it but for a fleeting thought about how he wished he could afford a bike. 

Matt’s alarm went off again at six, snapping him out of his work. He grabbed a pop tart from the box next to him as he stood up. He had to shove at least five cardboard boxes filled with his stuff before managing to get to his front door. He jogged down the stairs, finding his mail box in the lobby. There wasn’t much in there. A few bills, a letter about his new job, and a bunch of spam mail from various companies. He chucked the spam in the lobby trash can before heading back up the stairs. Matt flipped through the rest of the envelopes as he reached his floor. He turned the handle on his front door, pushing with his shoulder. He’d forgotten that his new door had an automatic deadbolt on it. He’d also forgotten the keys needed to unlock it. Matt groaned loudly, head falling against the door. He banged his forehead against it repeatedly as he groaned. 

“Who the fuck are you and what the hell are you doing?” 

Matt jumped, recognising the voice from this morning. He turned, looking up at the man at the end of the corridor. He was walking up to Matt, pulling the helmet off his head. Matt swear time slowed down as his blonde hair fell down to brush over his shoulders. Although judging by the amount of time he’d been whacking his head against the door he might just be concussed. No one shook their hair out like that except in films. He was definitely concussed. 

The man snapped his fingers right in front of Matt’s face. Matt jolted out of his daydream, looking up at him. “Huh?”

“What the hell are you doing banging your head against that door?” The man crossed his arms, one eyebrow raised questioningly. Matt opened his mouth, realising how stupid his reason was, even if it was true. 

“I locked myself out.” 

The man snorted. “So you’re the new tenant.” He looked Matt up and down in a way that, coming from anyone else, Matt would’ve thought was them checking him out. But coming from this guy it made Matt feel like he was being analysed. “You been living here what? A day? And you’ve already locked yourself out?”

Matt just nodded as the man laughed again. 

“Shove over.” The man pushed Matt out of the way to kneel in front of the door. He pulled a pin out of his leather jacket. Everything he was wearing was leather. A stylish leather jacket zipped up to his neck. Tight black leather pants with the hems shoved haphazardly into clunky dark red boots, the colour of dried blood. A silver wrapper peeked out of his back pocket. Matt looked back to his face. His brow was furrowed with concentration, bright blue eyes focused on the lock in front of him. His mouth was set in a hard line but Matt just caught a flicker of a smile as the door clicked. The man slid the bobby pin into his hair, pinning a section behind his ear, as he stood up. He turned the handle, standing to one side as he pushed open the door. The pulled back hair let Matt see the side of his face that had previously been covered by shadow. His skin was marred by waxy ridges that stood out blatantly from the rest of his skin. It was like someone had poured a melted a candle over half his face and had waited for it to solidify. The scar spread from around his eye all the way down his neck where it disappeared under the collar of his jacket. Matt couldn’t help but wonder how he could’ve gotten such a horrific injury.

“Take a picture. It’ll last longer.” His words were blunt, not in the teasing way most people said it. He sounded bored, like the words had already been spoken a hundred times.

Matt blinked, realising he’d been staring way too long to be considered appropriate for a first meeting. “Uh, sorry.”

The man shrugged. “Remember your keys next time, idiot. I don’t have time to pick it for you everyday.” 

Matt nodded. “How do you even know how to do that?”

The man was already unlocking his door. “Do what?”

“Pick a lock.”

“It comes in handy. Especially when I find out my neighbour is stupid enough to lock himself out.” Matt couldn’t tell if that was a smirk or a glare that the man gave him. He coughed awkwardly.

“Yeah, well. Thanks… um…” He looked at the man, hoping for him to supply his name.

“Mello.” He barely glanced at Matt as he spoke.

“I’m Matt. Good to meet you.”

“Yeah. See you round.” Mello closed the door behind him once he was inside his apartment.

 

* * *

 

Matt could hear Mello doing… something… from his couch. Matt wasn’t sure what exactly what it was. He could hear thuds followed by a footsteps coming closer, and then fading again. Then another thud. The noises repeated over and over, completely and utterly confusing Matt. What the hell was he doing? It kept happening until Matt felt like he was slowly being driven insane by the repetitiveness. he stood up, going over and hammering on the wall.

“What the fuck are you doing in there?” Matt called through the wall.

The thuds instantly stopped. “Uh… Darts.” 

Matt raised an eyebrow. “Darts?”

“Yeah. I play darts. Got a problem?” Mello’s muffled voice was suddenly defensive.

“Not at all.” He leant against the wall. “Isn’t darts a bit boring on your own?”

Matt swore he heard Mello laugh. “Isn’t it a bit quick to be flirting?”

Matt felt his face go bright red. “I’m not- I didn’t- Shut up!” Mello was cackling on the other side of the wall. It was a harsh laugh, the kind of laugh you would expect a man with Mello’s hard face to have, but it didn’t sound mean. Matt could tell Mello was leaning against the other side of the wall by the closeness of his laugh. Matt banged his hand against the wall. “You’re a dick.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Matt heard a loud thud like the ones before right by his head and then Mello’s footsteps walking away. He frowned slightly, looking at the wall like could somehow see through it. He was just about to walk away himself when he heard the footsteps coming back. There was a small thud as Mello leant against the wall again. 

“What was that about?”

“Getting a drink.” There was a few small taps of bottle against the wall as evidence. Matt smiled, weirdly glad that he hadn’t annoyed Mello. There was silence for a few seconds. “You know, I never realised how fucking thin the walls in this place were. The old guy in this place wasn’t much of a talker. Bit of a yeller, constantly telling me to shut the fuck up.” 

“Not surprised. Is your alarm a siren or something?” Matt sat down against the wall.

“It’s the only thing that can get me up.”

“Yeah well it gets me up as well. Way to early.”

“Have to be in work by 6:30. Have to be up at 5 to do that.” 

The conversation carried on much in the same way for hours, long after the sun had set. It felt easy, even with the few uncomfortable silences that fell between topics. Eventually they both left to go to their respective beds. Matt turned off his bedside lamp once he was in bed, hearing the creak of Mello walking across his own room. There was knock from Mello’s side of the wall, gaining a half asleep grunt from Matt. “If you fucking snore, I’m murdering you.” 

Matt laughed slightly. “Night Mello.”


End file.
